Altamirano lauds North’s gallant stand in Fiba 3x3

MANILA, Philippines - NU coach Eric Altamirano, who was tasked by the SBP to organize the Manila North and West teams, said yesterday he couldn’t have asked for more from the two squads that qualified for the semifinals of the Manila leg of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour at the Robinson’s Place Manila last weekend.

The icing on the cake was the North’s advance to the championship game against defending champion NoviSad, now representing AlWahda of the United Arab Emirates, and earning a ticket to the World Tour Finals in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 15-16. The North was made up of Alaska teammates Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel, pro-bound Troy Rosario and last minute pick-up Karl Dehesa.

The North fell short of claiming the $10,000 first prize and settled for the $4,000 check as runner-up but put up a gallant stand against the Serbians who were adopted by the Emirates from NoviSad. “They overachieved,” said Altamirano. “I think our players showed they can hold their own against foreign players. Maybe, all four should be considered for the Gilas pool.”

Altamirano admitted that Dehesa was not in his original wish list for the North squad. Abueva and Manuel were on the North team that lost to Doha, 21-8, in the quarterfinals last year. They were joined by Ian Sangalang and Jake Pascual. Altamirano said he chose Rosario to replace the injured Sangalang. “We had other players in mind but couldn’t get a commitment from them so we went with Karl,” said Altamirano. “He proved to be a blessing for us. We wanted a steady outside shooter and a tough defender. Karl is both. I hope with his showing, he gets the recognition he deserves in the PBA.”

Altamirano said it was Dehesa who defended the West’s Terrence Romeo in the semifinals. “Karl did a good job on Terrence for a while and it gave the North the chance to build a cushion so that by the time Terrence got hot, it was too late,” said Altamirano. Romeo, Rey Guevarra, KG Canaleta and Aldrech Ramos were on the West squad that was the defending Manila leg titlist. The North beat the West, 21-18.

Altamirano said his role in the tournament was to prepare both North and West. The Manila South entry was made up of young Cebu players who earned the trip by virtue of winning the Talk ‘N’ Text Tatluhan U18 national tournament. The players were Lucky Ecarma, 18, Jair Igna, 18, Carlo Ortega,18 and Joshua Sinclair, 17. The South failed to make it to the quarterfinals.

SBP executive director Sonny Barrios tapped Altamirano to get the two teams ready. “We began practicing five days before the tournament,” said Altamirano. “I had to bring in practice guys because I couldn’t just let the two teams play against each other. I didn’t want them burned out. I’m grateful to guys like Robin Rono, Glenn Khobuntin, Nico Salva, Arnaud Noah and Dennis Villamor who helped us out at practice.”

In the preliminaries, the North upset Beirut of Lebanon, 20-18, and Ljubljana of Slovenia, 17-16. Then, the North eliminated Kobe of Japan, 21-19, in the quarterfinals and the West in the semifinals. In the final, the North lost to AlWahda, 21-14.

“The North was seeded No. 10 and scored 14 points against AlWahda, the most the Serbians gave up to any team in the tournament,” said Altamirano. “The win over Slovenia was crucial. We were down by two with a minute left and Slovenia missed two free throws. Then, Karl knocked down a two from beyond the arc and it was tied. Vic clinched it with two free throws. Against NoviSad, we got into penalty early. I think we lost our cool a little bit. We wanted to retaliate because the Serbians were too physical. In 3x3, once you accumulate seven team fouls, the other team gets two free throws. Once you reach 10, the other team gets two free throws and possession. What killed us was NoviSad got an and-1 and we were over the limit so they got two extra free throws and possession.”

Altamirano said under FIBA 3x3 rules, an outsider isn’t allowed to coach. “The players were on their own,” he said. “My job was strictly to form the team. In the 3x3, FIBA doesn’t allow a coach to join the team huddles. In the semifinals, I was happy both our teams qualified. But it was a good and bad situation. Good because it assured us of a Manila team in the finals. Bad because it was two Manila teams in the knockout semifinals.”

Slovenia was a surprise victim in the quarterfinals, losing to Doha, 20-18. Although the Manila leg was an Asia-Pacific qualifying event, Ljubljana was an entry from Europe unlike NoviSad which was adopted by the Emirates. In the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, a team may enlist imports without limit. Slovenia won the 2013 World Tour Finals as Brezovica and three of its four players were in Manila, namely, 6-9 Ales Kunc, 7-1 Blaz Cresnar and 6-2 Jasmin Hercegovac. Kunc, 42, was the oldest player in the tournament and Cresnar, the tallest.

Even as the West failed to retain the title, a consolation was Romeo’s victory in the shootout and his award as MVP. Altamirano said he won’t be able to join the North at the World Tour Finals in Abu Dhabi because of his commitment with NU in the UAAP. AlWahda and Manila North will be joined in Abu Dhabi by 10 other qualifiers from the Prague, Beijing, Lausanne, Mexico and Rio de Janeiro legs.